Examples Of Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

When people are fearful of something they do not understand a prejudice is formed. In the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, the author, Harper Lee, suggests that when an individual is clouded with ignorance they simply do not understand circumstances different from ones they have faced themselves. As a result the individual is left to make an assumption purely based on their own beliefs of what is right and wrong. The book To Kill a Mocking Bird is flooded with misunderstandings caused by fear of the unknown and unfortunately many characters were left on the receiving end of these events. Throughout the story we see many characters fall victim to the cruel ignorance of others and are unjustly persecuted. In the story, one of the …show more content…
The town of Maycomb was just getting out of the time where most coloured people were seen as objects to be taken advantage of. Since living alongside coloured people was new to them, many still haboured their ignorant beliefs that they were superior. Most citizens thought of coloured people as people to be afraid of because all they did was cause hurt and distress to others. Throughout the story we see many coloured people targeted by the “higher class,” but the most controversial injustice was when Tom Robinson was wrongly accused for raping Mayella Ewell. Robinson was proved to be innocent by Atticus Finch, but because the jury was composed of Caucasian men, Tom Robinson was convicted as guilty. Although everyone could clearly understand Robinson was innocent, the jury still went against him because it was not a matter of wrong and right, it was a matter of race. Unfortunately for Tom, it was a perceived superior word against his own. Calpurnia too was wrongly judged by Aunt Alexandria, when she would not allow Scout to go to her home. She did this for fear of Scout being exposed to an unfamiliar culture and gossip by the townspeople. Another instance of poor treatment of coloured people is the second class citizen mentality amongst the Caucasian people of the town. This is shown when coloured people must enter or exit a place only after all of the Caucasian …show more content…
Without their consent change was happening all around the town of Maycomb which was arguably for the better. When Atticus intended to defend Tom Robinson the best he could, people were left with a sour feeling because it was something they never had to deal with before. A Caucasian man was trying to save the life of a coloured man and that was new to them. Another example of this is when Mr. Dolphus Raymond decides to not only have an affair with a coloured woman, but also have children with her. Many people in the community were left disgusted with Raymond, but they did not say he was among coloured people because he wanted to be, they said he was because he was drunk all the time. We learn that Raymond lives within the coloured community because he wants to and only pretends to be drunk because the others cannot understand why someone would be willing to associate with coloured people. Lastly, one final example of change that people did not want to accept was how Scout always wore overalls and a t-shirt. People were not fond of this idea because it was not how they thought a girl should dress, it was how boys dressed. Scout was unconsciously breaking gender stereotypes by her choice of attire. The Caucasian people of Maycomb did not like change because with change came less power and more equality. Change still persisted to occur without permission or notice because